Italian Hallmarks & Silver Marks - Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks

Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks

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Italian Hallmarks ~ from 1872

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Republic of Italy Prior to its final unification in 1870, the nation we know of today as Italy was a diverse agglomeration of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, baronies & city states. Much of the land was ruled in absentia by France, Austria, Spain and the Vatican, the borders shifting as the powers of these Empires waxed and waned. In the centuries prior to the unification, the markings found on silver of the region were as markedly varied and complex as the politics and power struggles of the ruling classes. It was not until 1872 that the new nation instituted a loose, but fully national system of silver marking.

1872 ~ 1933 • Optional National Marks
.950 silver	.900 silver	.800 silver
The crowned heads were optional marks and silvermiths were not required to have their work assayed and stamped, consequently these marks are not often found on Italian silver of the period.

1872 ~ 1933 • Unsanctioned Common Marks

More commonly seen are the variations illustrated above. Silversmiths usually stamped a decimal standard mark in a variety of formats, the .800 standard was generally used. Their makers' marks varied; initials, full names, symbols and combinations thereof were used, sometimes including city names or addresses. Occasionally, Italian silver pieces of this period are found with a maker's mark, but no standard mark or indication of silver purity.

1934 ~ Present • Official National Marks
1934 ~ 1944	1944 ~ 1968	1968 ~ Present
A	B	C
A. - The coming to power of the Fascist party in the 1920s brought a wave of governmental regulation. In 1934, new statutes were instituted for silver marking: 1. Silver standards were .800 and .925 marked within an oval cartouche. 2. Each silversmith registered and was assigned a number. 3. Maker's mark was prescribed a standard form, a lozenge with cut sides. 4. The maker's mark contained the silversmith's number, at center the "fasces" (an ancient Roman symbol, an axe bundled with birch sticks), and a two letter abbreviation of the province in which the silversmith was registered. (see chart below) B. - In 1944, following the demise of the Fascist government, the "fasces" symbol was obliterated from the maker's mark. C. - In 1968, new legislation ordered the maker's mark form changed to a rectangle with pointed sides, a five pointed star symbol added on left side. Standard marks of .800 and .925 retain the oval cartouche.
Our forum has an ongoing project to identify Italian silverware and jewelry manufacturers by their assigned numbers. Thus far, over 2,500 numerical marks have been documented. Italian Numerical Marks Identification

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Italian Province Abbreviations
AG	Agrigento	AL	Alessandria	AN	Ancona	AO	Aosta
AP	Ascoli Piceno	AQ	L'Aquila	AR	Arezzo	AT	Asti
AV	Avellino	BA	Bari	BG	Bergamo	BI	Biella
BL	Belluno	BN	Benevento	BO	Bologna	BR	Brindisi
BS	Brescia	BZ	Bolzano	CA	Cagliari	CB	Campobasso
CE	Caserta	CH	Chieti	CL	Caltanisetta	CN	Cuneo
CO	Como	CR	Cremona	CS	Cosenza	CT	Catania
CZ	Catanzaro	EN	Enna	FE	Ferrara	FG	Foggia
FI	Firenze	FO	Forlì-Cesena	FR	Frosinone	GE	Genova
GO	Gorizia	GR	Grosseto	IM	Imperia	IS	Isernia
KR	Crotone	LC	Lecco	LE	Lecce	LI	Livorno
LO	Lodi	LT	Latina	LU	Lucca	MC	Macerata
ME	Messina	MI	Milano	MN	Mantova	MO	Modena
MS	Massa Carrara	MT	Matera	NA	Napoli	NO	Novara
NU	Nuoro	OR	Oristano	PA	Palermo	PC	Piacenza
PD	Padova	PE	Pescara	PG	Perugia	PI	Pisa
PN	Pordenone	PO	Prato	PR	Parma	PT	Pistoia
PU	Pesaro-Urbino	PV	Pavia	PZ	Potenza	RA	Ravenna
RC	Reggio Calabria	RE	Reggio Emilia	RG	Ragusa	RI	Rieti
RN	Rimini	RO	Rovigo	RM	Roma	SA	Salerno
SI	Siena	SO	Sondrio	SP	La Spezia	SR	Siracusa
SS	Sassari	SV	Savona	TA	Taranto	TE	Teramo
TN	Trento	TO	Torino	TP	Trapani	TR	Terni
TS	Trieste	TV	Treviso	UD	Udine	VA	Varese
VB	Verbano	VC	Vercelli	VE	Venezia	VI	Vicenza
VR	Verona	VT	Viterbo	VV	Vibo Valentia

Related Pages at 925-1000.com:
World Hallmarks
British Hallmarks Explained
Dutch Hallmarks
German Hallmarks pre-1886
German Hallmarks post-1886
French Hallmarks
Swedish Hallmarks
Finnish Hallmarks
Norwegian Makers
David-Andersen Marks
Georg Jensen Marks